In an age of exercise and fitness, the time-honored abdominal crunch is under attack as potentially damaging if done incorrectly especially if performed by someone in poor physical condition. What is needed is an exercise tool to enable anyone to perform a correct abdominal crunch, and provide varying levels of resistance or assistance to accommodate people unaccustomed to exercise.
Additionally, there is a need for an exercise tool that enables a user to perform alternative variations of the abdominal crunch. For example, traditional abdominal crunches performed on a flat surface such as the ground only allow a user to recline to a horizontal position. In order to increase the difficulty of a traditional abdominal crunch, it would be desirable to provide a device that allows a user to recline beyond a horizontal position while still ensuring that the user maintains proper form in order to prevent injury.